For the second time in 2012, a psoriasis researcher supported by a National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) grant has received coveted funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—the primary federal agency responsible for biomedical and health-related research—to continue her work.

Earlier this year, Nicole Ward, Ph.D., assistant professor of dermatology and neurosciences at Cleveland’s Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and scientist with the Murdough Family Center for Psoriasis at University Hospitals Case Medical Center, used mouse models to discover exactly how psoriasis and cardiovascular disease are connected and also found that treating psoriasis reduced heart disease and heart attack risk. This research is the first study to show exactly how psoriasis and heart disease are connected and could change the way psoriasis is treated by dermatologists.

Ward began this landmark project with two $50,000 National Psoriasis Foundation Discovery Grants—one in 2009 and a second in 2010—that enabled her to gather enough data to apply for and receive a five-year, $1.8 million NIH grant to expand her research.

Using the NIH funding, Ward and her team will continue to focus on demonstrating definitively that skin inflammation in the form of psoriasis causes hardening of the arteries, inflamed blood vessels and risk of blood clotting. They also will use genetically engineered mice to examine whether biologic drugs that treat psoriasis in humans will prevent heart disease.

National Psoriasis Foundation Discovery Grants, awarded annually, are intended to lay the groundwork for additional long-term funding from the NIH and other funding agencies. Help the Foundation support additional research that will bring us closer toward a cure.

About the National Psoriasis Foundation

National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) is the world's largest nonprofit serving those with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Our priority is to provide the information and services people need to take control of their condition, while increasing research to find a cure. In addition to serving more than 2.1 million people annually through our health education and advocacy initiatives, NPF has funded more than $13 million in psoriatic disease research grants and fellowships. Learn more about the Psoriasis Foundation at www.psoriasis.org or call 800-723-9166. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.